With the light nights and sunny days it’s easy to wish that you’d ordered blackout vertical blinds. There is however a cheap solution. You can order blackout vertical blind slats that will fit your existing headrail. You can roll up your existing blind slats and keep them as spares or for when you just fancy a change.

Replacing your blind slats is easier than you may think and not only will blackout slats enhance your lifestyle they will also freshen up your old vertical blind making them look like new again.

We’ve put together this brief guide to help you.

What you need to know before you order your vertical blackout blind slats

First of all grab a tape measure or ruler and measure the width of your existing blind slats. They will either be 3.5 inches wide (89mm which is just short of 9cm) or they will be 5 inches wide (127mm or just less than 13cm). It’s important that you order the same width blind slats as you have already as you can’t fit 3.5 inch slats to a 5 inch headrail and vice versa.

How to measure your vertical blind slats and order replacements

This is quite straight forward. You simply unhook one of your blind slats and lay it on a flat surface, measure hem to hem and don’t add or subtract anything for the fold overs around the hangers or bottom weights. See our guide on how to measure vertical blind slats which includes photos.

Choosing the right replacement blackout blind slats

Once you’ve established if you have 5 inch or 3.5 inch blind slats and you have your measurements wrote down you simply need to find a replacement blind slat fabric that you like. You may want to give some consideration as to where the blind is located. For instance if you have a kitchen or bathroom blinds then you may want to consider a waterproof fabric. If you need to replace the slats in a conservatory or bedroom then you may want something a bit more chic. Visit our online vertical blind shop to see a range of vertical blind slats.

Summer’s here and although white blind slats and cream blind slats are the most common choice due to them being neutral, we thought we’d give you some inspiration to try something a little more daring when choosing replacement vertical blind slats.

The beauty of replacement blind slats is that they are cheap and as such you can afford to easily change them as you mood (or colour scheme) changes. You can even keep your existing blind slats and maybe have a vibrant colour for summer and may be have a set of more sober coloured blind slats for winter. Click on any of the photos below to find out the prices of the blind slats featured in this review.

Bold coloured blind slats

We wrote an article about this years blind slat colours on one of our sister websites earlier in the year in which we disclosed that this years colours were tipped to be orange, lime and rosy red. Not only are you seeing these colours in the high street but also in interior design. What better way to accessorise than with new coloured blind slats?

These replacement blind slats would really bring a lift to any room of the house, They would look fantastic in a conservatory, dining room or even an office! Can you imagine the energy that these fantastic citrus coloured blind slats would bring to your office or shop?

If these colours are a little to bold or energetic for you then lets take a look at some more.

Pastel Blind Slats

For pastel alternatives to the usual cream and white replacement slats why not consider a dusky pale pink? Pink vertical blind slats are ideal not just for girls bedrooms but also in any area of the home or office where you want serenity, femininity and calm. These pink blind slats from the bermuda range are a lovely self coloured plain blind slat fabric that wont crowd the senses but will lend a delicate touch of warmth and sensuality to any room.

If pink really isn’t your thing then how about a very chic looking coffee colour blind slat? Coffee or tan or whatever you care to call it is perhaps the most popular colour after white or cream. It’s depth makes it less bland than the others without it standing out. It’s still a very neutral colour and coffee vertical blind slats will go with almost any colour scheme too. This fabric is from our Galaxy range and is a self patterned plain fabric with a slight mottle effect.

Grey vertical blind slats are another colour that again will pretty much go with any decor. The paler the grey the more colour schemes it will blend with. In the office grey seems to give a sense of purpose whilst in the home it blends well with black and chrome furniture and clean crisp colour schemes. This particular grey blind slat is again from the Bermuda range and is a plain grey flat weave fabric. Like the other blind slats we’ve reviewed here it can be sponge cleaned.

Patterned vertical blind slats

Other than the self coloured patterned vertical blind slats that you will have seen on most blind slat websites there are one or two quite exclusive fabrics too. This for instance is Chatsworth, a black and white vertical blind slat fabric that because of its primary colours will still blend with most colour schemes and will add a touch of decadence to any room. Use in a lounge, dining room, bedroom or any room where you want that special look from your blinds. These blind slats are available like the others above in 3.5 inches or 89mm and can also be sponged clean.

127mm Vertical Blind Slats – 5 inch

If you have 5 inch or 127mm blind slats then your choice is narrowed somewhat. Most blind slat fabric weavers make 3.5 inch blind fabrics these days as that is what the market seems to demand. These slimmer fabrics don’t take up as much window cill space as the 5 inch. Fear not however, there are still a few nice 5 inch blind slats available.

Lilac replacement blind slats are very dramatic. Shown at the top of the page in a bathroom setting these blind slats look more dramatic than any other colour that we’ve looked at here. These 5 inch vertical blind slats in lilac are a stitch-bond fabric meaning that you can machine wash them (if you follow the manufacturers instructions) and so these replacement vertical blind slats lend themselves to a variety of applications including kitchens and bathrooms. Maybe not everyones cup of tea but this fabric got a thumbs up from everyone in our office, both male and female alike!

And as we’ve already mentioned pink vertical blind slats it seemed only fair to finish with a 5 inch replacement blind slat in pink. This time a little darker, Matrix pink is a 5 inch vertical blind slat with a slight random pattern. If you are after replacing your vertical blind slats with something in between neutral and bold then this particular blind slat may just be for you. As already mentioned Pink is such a warm colour and as replacement blind slats they will work well in many rooms. This particular blind slat has been reduced in price considerably. Click the image for more details.

Throughout the year some online blind shops will have a clearance sale of discontinued fabrics. It’s during one of these sales that you can pick up some incredibly cheap vertical blind slats. Fabrics that were once quite expensive are sold off to make way for the new seasons designs. Take this vertical blind slat fabric, called Spice. This fabric was available in white or cream and in also in colours. To be honest the white and cream vertical blind slats may be reduced in price slightly as they are always good sellers but the coloured vertical blind slats are usually sold off at an unbelievably low price.

Spice Blue vertical blind slats and Spice Green vertical blind slats are currently available at just 50p each and that even includes new weights and chains! This blind slat fabric was once a premium fabric and sold for much more. These have to be the cheapest blind slats in the UK at the moment. Once they’re gone that’s it though as they are a discontinued fabric. These replacement vertical blind slats look great in any room and are ideal for someone who needs to buy a lot of slats i.e. for a conservatory or maybe you’re a landlord looking for cheap blinds? The photo at the top shows the Spice green vertical blind slats installed and they look great and at just 50p each they have to be the cheapest vertical blind slats online.

What Is The Difference Between Blind Slats and Louvres?

In a word, Nothing! What we’re talking about here is the name given to the strips of fabric that make up a vertical blind.

Being in the blinds business, we tend to refer to these are blind slats, we know however from our many enquiries from customers around the UK that they have different names for them. In no particular order here’s the most popular that we hear:

Blind slats

Blind vanes

Blind louvres

Blind louvers

Blind strips

Blind fabric

Blind drops

Blind material

Fear not, all these refer to the same thing, the name given to the strips of fabric that hang from a vertical blind. What do you call them?

It still isn’t common knowledge that these blind louvres can be replaced quickly and cheaply to give your old vertical blinds a new lease of life.

Only a few years ago the buying public were favouring patterned vertical blind slats. This gave way to us seeing more and more plain cream and white blind slats being sold. The trend this year however seems to be a plain fabric but in vibrant colours.

A particular favourite is the Bermuda range of fabrics from Just Blinds. This range although a plain jacquard fabric with no pattern, is available in a number of striking colours:

Just a small selection of the colours available as replacement blind slats

If you want to make a bold statement then the Bermuda range of vertical blind slats will do just that and at only £1.24 each they represent tremendous value. Coloured vertical blind slats will transform any room without busting your budget

Sometimes you may have a need to shorten your vertical blind slats. Maybe you’ve had a new window installed or a new internal window cill. Maybe you have decided to reuse an existing vertical blind and you need to adjust the length of the blind slats.

Well you’ll be pleased to know that shortening blinds slats is easy. There is no sewing or gluing involved either and within minutes you can shorten your blind slats to whatever length you require simply by using these rather clever DIY vertical blind slat hangers. They come in two pieces, you fold the blind slat fabric over the thin plastic rod and then slide the hanger over that. The slat is gripped in place and your slats are as good as new! Simples! Need to shorten blind slats? The blind slat hangers are available from Just Blinds priced at 65p each